


lover boy

by doitsushine92



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Head Injury, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT)-centric, Non Linear Narrative, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, References to Musicals and TV Shows, Romance, Set in London, arts college, everyone loves mark, marknoren centric tbh, minor mentions of blood, not everyone is dating everyone, rated m bc markno get frisky towards the end, that's important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 15:38:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18694375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doitsushine92/pseuds/doitsushine92
Summary: Mark might not be dating all of them, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’tloveall of them. And he feels at peace like this.Or, Mark is a college student, has three boyfriends, one of which has another boyfriend and he has another boyfriend as well and they all live together and do musicals at their university together.





	lover boy

**Author's Note:**

> hello this makes no sense pls bear with me

Yukhei is – and Mark means this in the sweetest, most affectionate way possible – kind of a dog. Or, perhaps, a puppy is a better term to describe him; a big, long-limbed, overeager puppy, like a golden retriever, like the one Mark had as a kid. It was a good puppy, always brought back the sticks Mark threw in the garden and slept at the foot of his bed for most of Mark’s childhood. Okay, maybe he shouldn’t compare his boyfriend to his past pet, but he can’t help it. They bare an uncanny resemblance, it’s not Mark’s fault.

Not when Yukhei is currently trying to become one with Mark, pressed up against him as he is, the bed certainly big enough to fit the both of them yet he still prefers to sleep on top of Mark rather than by his side. He’s positively drooling all over his shirt, snoring softly into the fabric, floppy black hair tickling Mark’s chin. Mark runs a hand through the newly dyed hair, thinking back to the hours Renjun spent chasing Yukhei around the house until the boy finally caved and let him colour it. Mark thought he would miss the blond hair, but black turned out to be a great look for him; it made him look impossibly younger, his features softer, gentler. Everyone in the house seemed to be shocked and amazed at the new look, as well, and Yukhei was bashful the entire night, preening under the attention, clearly enjoying the hands running through his locks and the praises.

Mark hears activity in the downstairs floor, meaning that someone is awake already. The clock doesn’t even read 6am yet, so Mark knows it’s just Jeno and Jaemin getting ready for their morning runs. They’d tried dragging Mark with them, once, but Mark couldn’t keep up with them and their dancer’s stamina and he settled for going to the gym with Yukhei once or twice a week. It is better like this: he works out at his own pace and doesn’t have to be resurrected every five minutes. Even if Jaemin jokingly gave him mouth-to-mouth once and left Mark’s lips tingly for hours afterwards.

Yukhei shifts in his sleep and takes Mark with him, his limbs wrapping entirely around his body. It took some time for Mark to get used to having a boyfriend so tall – both Jaemin and Jeno are taller than him, even if it’s just for a mere inch and a half, but Mark never has to crane his neck even the littlest bit when talking to them and he never feels small in comparison. Then Yukhei came along and Mark had to grow accustomed to his looming presence, the long arms that could wrap around Mark with ease and the legs that stretch for miles and are optimal seats. Not that Mark spends most of their dates staring at them. Totally, definitely not.

Mark is already awake, doesn’t think he’ll be falling asleep again anytime soon, and in his trapped position, he can’t exactly move around. His eyes wander around the bedroom in boredom: the closet is about to overflow with clothes, his own and the boys’ because his is the biggest; he sees the guitar in the corner and thinks it’s going to get dusty if he doesn’t use it soon, but he hasn’t had time to breath, much less to partake in his hobbies. The blinds are only halfway shut and a weak sliver of sunlight is streaming in, casting long shadows on the rest of the room. Mark can see his reflection on the line of mirrors, the one they put up a long time ago before he permanently moved into this bedroom.

The bedroom door creaks open and Mark turns his body slightly to see Renjun peeking his head in, his pillow gripped in one hand, his eyes sleepy and his hair a mess, as if he just rolled out of bed. Mark starts to ask if he’s alright, but Renjun only shakes his head to indicate he should stay quiet and walks further inside the bedroom, closing the door once more behind him. Mark makes room for him between his own body and Yukhei’s, ignoring the protests that Yukhei gives in his sleep because he knows they’ll die down as soon as Renjun settles between them.

“You okay?” Mark asks. He knows Renjun has been having a hard time sleeping lately, a combination of feeling homesick and the stress of a project due in a month that he refuses to seek help for. It reminds Mark a lot of when they first met and Renjun had grasped his sleeve, big eyes imploring him to please, please help him save the winter play, because back then Renjun had the same bags under his eyes and the exhaustion had been visible as well. “Is it your project?”

“Yeah,” Renjun nods. He’s trapped in Yukhei’s arms – Yukhei thinks everyone is his teddy bear when he’s asleep – but he still manages to shuffle closer to Mark, taking hold of the elder’s shirt and wringing it anxiously. “It’s for my sketch class. Don’t even get me started on the costumes for the spring play,” he huffs. “We’re doing Les Misérables, as you know. As if that isn’t cliché enough,” Renjun grumbles under his breath.

“I could help,” Mark offers. He doesn’t even know why he does it, he’s in Music Composition and Production and he can barely knit a scarf. He just wants to help Renjun, can’t stand the worried pinch in his forehead. He doesn’t mention that he’s neck deep in rearranging the musical scores and trying to juggle his major and the weekly meetings he has with the actors so they can practice their numbers – at least he and Donghyuck live under the same roof and there’s a piano in the studio.

“Thanks,” Renjun smiles, an amused tilt to his voice, “it’s okay, though. I just need better time management. Speaking of,” Renjun attempts to get up, but Yukhei tightens his hold around him and Renjun can’t even move two inches off the bed. “Seriously? I’m not even his boyfriend.”

“As far as Xuxi is concerned, if you’re warm and fit in his arms, you’re good for cuddling,” Mark giggles. “Where are you going, anyway? It’s barely past six.”

“I _was_ going to get a head start on today’s dresses,” Renjun grumbles. He’s struggling to get Yukhei off him, and as soon as he’s free, Mark traps him instead, rolling them over so Renjun is stuck between Mark and the bed. “Mark, what are you doing?” Renjun doesn’t sound mad, just confused and amused, as if he isn’t sure what’s happening but isn’t surprised Mark did it.

“I’m keeping you prisoner,” Mark shrugs, as if it’s as simple as that. And it is. “It’s too early for you to lock yourself up in your studio. And, even worse, today is Saturday.”

“Those costumes aren’t going to sew themselves,” Renjun reminds him. He’s waning, though, the tiredness creeping into his bones like a blanket.

“You’ve been staying up until the small hours working the past week.” Mark snorts at Renjun’s surprised expression. “What, you think Jeno and I don’t talk? He’s told me all about your all-nighters. He’s really worried about you,” Mark adds gently, “and so am I.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about,” Renjun says with an eye roll. “College, we’re all stressed out.”

Mark nods. “That’s true,” he admits, “but unlike you, the rest of us know when to take a break. And as your boyfriend with seniority, I command you take a break today.”

Renjun blinks. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Shut up and accept my love.”

Renjun giggles. It’s followed directly by a yawn that takes up his entire face, and he blinks sleepily up at Mark. “I guess I can nap for a little while,” Renjun yawns again, “until Jeno and Jaemin get back. Jaem said he’d make breakfast for everyone. You can get off me now,” he smiles.

Mark hums, as if he’s deep in thought, but doesn’t move from his spot. “Nah, I kinda like it up here.”

“Mark, I can see your arms shaking from the effort,” Renjun deadpans. “Just get down here and kiss me.”

“That I can do.”

Renjun rolls his eyes at Mark as the older boy lowers himself back down. His expression still softens, however, right before their lips touch. Renjun is always surprisingly pliant during kissing, so different to how he is in his daily life, allows Mark to control the pace and only controls how close they are – in his opinion, if every inch of skin isn’t touching, they’re doing it wrong. Mark already knows what Renjun wants, and he lets his body sink into Renjun’s, his forearms holding him up while Renjun tries to pull him down, closer even. Mark doesn’t want to crush him under his weight, having a considerable number on him, from height and diet and workout regimes, but Renjun doesn’t care in the slightest, and he doesn’t stop tugging on Mark’s pyjama shirt until he can feel Mark’s heart beating against his chest.

“You know that if you need help, you just need to ask, right?” Mark didn’t mean to whisper, but it came out that way. Renjun nods, his eyes closed, and he’s asleep a second later, his breathing evened out. Mark smiles and lets his body fall sideways, Renjun still in the middle of the bed, and not for the first time Mark is glad Yukhei is such a cuddle monster, because it means he doesn’t have to stretch too much to graze his arm and Mark’s fingers curl around Yukhei’s bicep, Renjun unconsciously nuzzling closer to Mark’s body heat.

~

_If there’s one thing Mark is grateful for, is that he followed his heart and went to a Liberal Arts college instead of Medicine school, which is what his parents wanted. There are various reasons for said gratefulness: most importantly, it’s what he wants to do with his life. He has zero interest in the anatomy of the human body and a whole lot of interest in music theory, and going for a Performance Arts degree might be what he wants, but his parents weren’t happy. They still paid for it, being a private university and all, if only because Mark was always a good kid and did everything he was told to do up until that moment. He can still see his mother’s pursed lips as she signed the check, but her eyes softened when she saw how excited Mark seemed, as if she was reluctantly accepting her son wouldn’t be a brain surgeon as she dreamed – honestly, his mom had too big expectations from him, Mark thought._

_Mark can remember vividly the day he went in to sign up his classes. His college is small, barely ten thousand students total spread across eight faculties, and students had the choice to either use the website to enrol their classes or do it at one of the administration offices on campus. Mark went for the second option, and he only had to wait a couple of minutes in a blue and white room, his legs bouncing up and down in excitement. Thanks to his grades during high school, he had one of the earliest appointments – 9.00 am, the earliest for signups – so Mark was alone in the waiting room, save for a girl with bleached blonde hair and a Ramones t-shirt. When the lady behind the desk told him it was time for his appointment, he managed to walk into the office and sit behind a wooden table, introducing himself to the professor with a bow and then a handshake – he never quite grew out the custom of bows. The professor, after some short formalities, asked him if he had any specifications or concentrations in mind and Mark blanked._

_“Don’t worry,” the lady said to him, a kind smile on her face, “you said you wanted Performance Arts? We can just sign you up for core classes; you don’t have to choose anything yet.”_

_Mark never heard sweeter words. He was given the directions to his dorm and a sheet of paper with his schedule printed on it, and he smiled for hours on end. Not even his parents, with their disapproving tones and frowns, could bring him down from his clouds. Well, the disapproving tone was mostly from his dad; his mom was more neutral about the ordeal now._

_He met his roommate that same day. His name was Huang Renjun, Fine Arts major. “I’m going for painting and costume designing,” he said to Mark, as if Mark couldn’t tell from the canvases on Renjun’s side of the room and the pins and needles stacked on a torso. Renjun didn’t ask for his concentration, and Mark was thankful for that._

_The dorm rooms were nothing too especial: the room was big enough to hold two twin-sized beds on opposite ends, a window that took up half the outer wall, overlooking the city skyline since they were so high up and on the edge of campus, two identical desks with lamps and two dressers. Theirs was a corner room, and they had the blessing of a private bathroom, and Mark couldn’t bring himself to care that it was a little cramped; anything not to share a bathroom with a hundred other students, right?_

_Classes didn’t start until Monday. It was a Friday, and Mark had every intention to stay in, unpack his things and get used to his new surroundings, but he wasn’t counting on Renjun dragging him out within an hour. Renjun was talking about the city, how he’d never been to London before and that he was itching to walk around before classes started to kick his ass and Mark blurted out that he’s lived here for seven years, “I can show you around?”_

_Somehow, that led to the two of them riding a tourist bus and getting lost after it got dark out, but Mark had more fun than during his entire summer holidays and Renjun was smiling from ear to ear. Mark thought, at one point in the evening, that Renjun was probably scared of being alone somewhere he doesn’t know, even if it seemed preposterous to think of this boy as anything but brave given the strong façade he put on that day. But Mark could see the cracks in his act, the nervous jitter of his hands as they waited for the metro later in the night and how his eyes flitted from one place to another. And yet, Renjun didn’t let on any other sign, and he seemed genuinely happy when they finally returned to their dorm._

_Renjun turned out to be shier than he let on during their first encounter, and he and Mark shared so many classes that the two just naturally stuck together like glue; Mark will tease Renjun, months later, after he finds out that Renjun was actually just hitting on him the entire time. Mark made friends in a few other lectures, like Mina from Introduction to Music and Jihoon from Introduction to History of Theatre (he had many introductory classes), but none like Renjun._

_Mark didn’t even realize he had a crush on Renjun until the boy was begging him to, “Please, please, please help us, our sound tech quit last second and he took his assistant with him and we need a new one, you’re our only hope,” and Mark couldn’t say no. How could he? When Renjun had big bambi eyes and the softest pout in hopes that it would sway Mark?_

_A million reasons flew through Mark’s head for the following days: he doesn’t know how to be a sound technician, for starters; he’d never seen Hairspray in his life; he had no idea what he was supposed to do. But he never said so to Renjun._

_One night, they watched the movie on Mark’s laptop. Renjun was only the assistant to the costume designer, since it was his first play, and he had his notebook on his lap and he was scribbling down notes for all the outfits, while Mark listened to the songs to be familiarized with them. It was stupid late and Mark had a full day of class, but it was Renjun who fell asleep three times, two of which happened to be on Mark’s shoulder. Before he could do it again for the fourth time, Mark nudged him softly and asked, “Why’d you ask me for help? Why not an upperclassmen or someone with more experience?”_

_Renjun, his head resting on Mark’s bicep and his legs tangled with Mark’s, blinked sleepily, yawned and said, “I’ve heard your compositions when you work on them. You’re really good with music; I knew you’d be perfect for it.”_

_“How do you know I won’t mess up?” Mark fiddled with the blanket that Renjun randomly threw over their laps when he got cold, not sure that he wanted to hear the answer. “I mean, I don’t even know what I’m doing.”_

_“You’ve done great so far,” Renjun smiled, and it was that smile, that sheer trust Renjun seemed to have on him that spurred Mark to kiss him. And what’s even better, Renjun kissed him back. Never mind that Mark had to place the laptop on the ground before Renjun could kick it to hell as he manoeuvred to climb onto Mark’s lap, his lips not once leaving Mark’s. Mark thinks he couldn’t have cared any less about his laptop at the time, too busy exploring Renjun’s mouth with his tongue, Renjun’s hands sliding under Mark’s shirt to palm at his abdomen while Mark gripped his waist and tried to press them as close together as humanly possible._

_Renjun, Mark discovered, was a cuddler, and didn’t mind being the little spoon too much. He also liked to kiss Mark every morning before they parted ways for class, and he liked to hold Mark’s hand when they walked together around campus. Renjun smelled like lavender, fabric softener and aquarelles, spent his free time watching Russian soap operas and enjoyed riling up the Literature students by claiming Stephanie Meyer wrote a better love story than Shakespeare did. He indulged Mark in his taste for strange coffee runs in the middle of the night, accompanied him to the record shop even if he kept making fun of Mark for being a hipster and never once complained that Mark would often stay up until the wee hours doing homework and research and wouldn’t turn off the lamp._

_Renjun was safe and warm and Mark felt as if he were on a cloud, with his endless smiles and words of encouragement. Renjun became Mark’s home._

_Another reason why he will be forever grateful he chose to go to a Liberal Arts college instead of Medicine school: He met Renjun._

~

The next time Mark wakes up, Yukhei is gone and the room is brighter than before, so it’s probably past nine am. Renjun is curled up under his arm, his warm breath hitting the side of Mark’s neck, the younger boy dead to the world as he sleeps. Mark debates if he should get up or stay with him – he really wants to stay. Renjun has been so busy, and so has Mark, and there’s barely been enough time to see each other at the house, only during play rehearsals, but even then Mark is stuck in the sound booth while Renjun runs behind the actors to get their measurements.

And Renjun looks so painfully pretty when he’s sleeping, his face unguarded. Mark doesn’t mean to ogle, but that’s exactly what he ends up doing.

“Stop staring at me,” Renjun mumbles. The words are barely understandable as they were said into the blankets. “Go eat; I can hear your stomach growling.”

“Want me to get you anything?” Mark bites his lip. He really doesn’t want to move away, but he’s starving. “We could have breakfast in bed, like old times.”

“No, thank you.” Renjun finally opens his eyes, and he offers Mark a soft smile as he continues, “We can cuddle later, I promise. I’m just gonna sleep a little longer.”

“Good.” Mark can’t really be mad Renjun will pass an opportunity to eat in bed if he’s going to sleep instead.

Mark leaves Renjun wrapped in blankets, snoring before Mark is even out of the bed, and goes downstairs while daydreaming about whatever Jaemin has cooked. He almost trips on three separate pairs of discarded dance shoes on the staircase, and he makes a mental note to tell Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest to clean up when they get back from rehearsal the next time. The first thing he sees upon arrival to the living room is Donghyuck on the couch, a plate balanced on his knees while he watches Ducktales on Disney Channel. Mark can hear Jeno and Yukhei in the kitchen, he can even catch a glimpse of Jeno’s Hello Kitty pyjama pants through the archway, but there’s no sign of Jaemin anywhere.

“Morning,” Mark greets him, going to sit next to him. Donghyuck offers a mumbled ‘morning’ as well, his eyes never leaving the TV. “Are you really that into the show you can’t properly say hi?” Mark teases. He doesn’t care much, to be honest; he knows how much Donghyuck likes that show.

“It’s not my fault you can’t appreciate a masterpiece when you see it,” Donghyuck shoots back.

Mark supresses a smile as he says, “I appreciate you.”

It gets him the desired reaction: Donghyuck almost drops the plate, his eyes going wide as saucers as he swivels around to stare at him in surprise. Mark only gives him a cheeky smile and leaves for the kitchen. There’s his breakfast, waiting for him wrapped in aluminium to keep it warm, and Jeno and Yukhei perk up when they see him. Mark drops a kiss on Yukhei’s cheek as he passes by him and strokes Jeno’s jaw gently before he dives for his food. He silently thanks Jaemin for making his favourite: fried eggs and bacon.

“Renjun is sleeping,” Mark says to Jeno before he can ask. He’d seen the nervous flicker of his eyes when Renjun didn’t come in after him. Honestly, Jeno can be so obvious sometimes. “He promised to take a break today.”

“Thank you,” Jeno sighs. “I knew he’d listen to you.”

Mark looks at him. “He listens to you, too, you know? He’s just a stubborn kid.”

Jeno smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Yukhei looks from one to the other with a worried frown, but Mark pats his thigh reassuringly, silently telling him not to worry about it. “Jeno,” Mark tries, but Donghyuck chooses that moment to burst back into the kitchen, humming along to the ending song of the show. He’s also still in his pyjamas, a brown t-shirt that’s at least a size too big and sky blue cotton pants he keeps dragging under his feet. Donghyuck puts his empty plate on the sink and washes it as a second thought, most likely because he can feel Mark’s eyes boring into his back.

“If we were in Ducktales, which character would you be?” Donghyuck asks, sitting on the stool next to Jeno’s and crowding into his space. “I’d be Webby. She’s badass and smart and really cute.”

“Hyuck, you know perfectly well you’re the only one who watches that,” Jeno sighs in amusement.

“Fine.” Donghyuck purses his lips, staring the three of them up and down. “Jeno, you’d be Dewey, the soft, sensible one. Renjun would be Huey, because he’s the smart one. Jaemin would be Louie, probably, because they’re both the evil triplet.”

“Louie is the evil triplet?” Yukhei furrows his eyebrows.

“It’s canon! His brothers said so.”

“They’re triplets?” Mark and Jeno chorus.

Donghyuck doesn’t dignify that with a response. “Mark can be Uncle Donald and Xuxi can be Launchpad.”

“Who the fuck is that?” Yukhei asks.

“He’s the lovable goof,” Donghyuck teases. Yukhei glares at him playfully, but he accepts his role.

“Why am I Donald Duck?” Mark frowns.

“Two reasons.” Donghyuck raises two fingers. “One, no one ever knows what the hell either of you two are saying, and two, he loves the triplets a lot and everyone knows you’d kill everyone in this room and then yourself if something ever happened to Jeno, Jaemin or Renjun.”

“What’s this I’m hearing?” Jaemin finally makes an appearance, his hair wet from his shower, the collar of his t-shirt soaking as well. “No one’s dying while I’m in charge.”

“You’re not in charge,” Donghyuck sticks his tongue out at him. It goes away the second Jaemin pecks his cheek.

“I am now. Where’s Injun?” he asks, looking around the kitchen as if he’s going to find their missing housemate hiding under the table or something.

“He’s asleep,” Mark repeats. Jaemin makes a pleased sound and goes for the coffee. Mark long ago gave up trying to get him to stop drinking so much caffeine. “We should do something today. The six of us.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Jaemin smiles. “We could have a picnic! Or go to the movies.”

Everyone adds their input then, nearly shouting over each other in an attempt to be heard. It’s a normal occurrence at this point and it’s not strange they don’t wake Renjun at all. Mark finishes his breakfast in silence, content with watching them. Mark might not be dating all of them, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t _love_ all of them. And he feels at peace like this.

Minutes later, while everyone is gone to get showered and dressed, Mark is left alone in the kitchen with Jaemin. The younger boy is shuffling his feet awkwardly, hovering around the sink as if he’s waiting for something. Mark assumes he wants to talk to him about something important.

Mark approaches him, dirty plate in hand so he can use it as pretext for getting close. Jaemin looks borderline constipated, and Mark really doesn’t like it. Jaemin stays silent while Mark washes his dish and dries it, even after Mark stands in front of him expectantly.

“Your hair looks really nice,” Mark tells him honestly. “I don’t know if I told you already.”

“You have,” Jaemin says, smiling self-consciously. He’s patting his black hair, a change after the pink and then the honey blond he wore in the last eight months. They’d all dyed their hairs back to black in solidarity with Donghyuck, who was forced to do so for his role. it was an entire day ordeal, the main bathroom a mess and endless of old, ratty t-shirts covered in excess hair dye, but at the end of it they’d all collapsed on a puppy pile on the couch and watched a Poldark marathon. “Thank you.”

Mark hums. Jaemin goes back to silence and Mark only worries more. Jaemin is usually one of the most talkative in the house and this isn’t normal for him in the slightest. “Jaemin, is something wrong?” Mark finally asks. He’d planned to give Jaemin his time, but the suspense was killing him.

“I’ve been thinking about asking Jeno out,” Jaemin confesses softly. “But I’m not sure he’d want to date me, as well. Not with three other guys in his life.”

“Well,” Mark blinks, “You can’t lose anything by asking. You are allowed to ask him out. Or do I have to remind you why we all live together?” Mark teases.

Jaemin scoffs, but the wariness still hasn’t left him. “I just don’t want him to feel overwhelmed. He already has Renjun and Hyuck and you –" Jaemin interrupts himself, as if he can’t bring himself to go on. He seems exhausted, and Mark wonders how long this has been eating at him for. “Either way,” Jaemin continues, “I don’t want to scare him away.”

“I can’t speak for Jeno,” Mark starts, endeared at how Jaemin nods vehemently in agreement, “but I can speak for myself. I don’t mind us sharing a boyfriend, Jaemin. Donghyuck would be more than thrilled to have you two date,” he adds as an afterthought. “And I can tell Jeno likes you, as well. You should go for it.”

“Thank you,” Jaemin sighs. Mark smiles and it only widens when Jaemin leans down – an inch and a half – and presses a peck to his cheek. Mark turns his head just in time to catch Jaemin’s lips in his, the younger boy melting into him immediately.

It isn’t uncommon for them to kiss. Not just Jaemin and Mark, but everyone else, as well. The circumstances of their relationships allow a certain freedom for these things and Mark has lost count of how many times he’s seen Yukhei and Donghyuck kissing not-so-secretly ever since Yukhei joined them, just to name one example. He’s only kissed Jaemin a handful of times, and on very specific situations, but none is any less sweet than the other.

Jaemin is always chewing on gum or hard candy and he tastes just like that, a bit of honey and liquorice and vanilla, in spite of the early morning, and his lips are soft from all the lip gloss he uses – Mark knows he uses it because it drives Donghyuck crazy to see his boyfriend’s lips all shiny. He also smells like apple shampoo and body lotion and his distinct cologne, everyone in the house using something different as decided on a whim.

They part after a few seconds, Jaemin thanking Mark once more and then scurrying away, his cheeks burning red. Mark’s hands shake the entire trip up the stairs and into his bedroom, where Renjun is still sleeping. Yukhei is standing in front of the closet, browsing through the clothes he has at Mark’s place because he doesn’t want to go to his own flat and fetch clothes at this hour.

Renjun wakes up momentarily when Mark sits down on the bed next to him. “You’re really red, Mark,” he mumbles, sighing at the fingers carding through his hair and falling asleep again. Mark is thankful he doesn’t need to explain why he resembles a tomato right now, even if Yukhei wiggles his eyebrows and grins wolfishly at him.

“Shut up,” Mark tells him.

~

_It was Donghyuck who brought Jaemin into the relationship. Mark wasn’t in town at the time, visiting his parents in Vancouver for his mother’s birthday, but he heard all about it from Renjun._

_According to Renjun, it went like this: Donghyuck met Jaemin during one of Jeno’s dance rehearsals, the new guy in the dance crew, recently transferred from another college in Liverpool. Jeno introduced them, happily, alerting Donghyuck that Jaemin would be replacing a deserter on their production of the Rocky Horror Show, and Donghyuck was thrilled to meet their new colleague. Jeno didn’t mention to Jaemin that he and Donghyuck were together, because it was a little difficult to explain that Jeno was dating three boys at the same time. As far as the dance crew was concerned, Jeno was single, maybe the perpetual third wheel in Mark’s and Renjun’s relationship and very close to Donghyuck._

__  
_ _

_Jaemin and Donghyuck hit it off instantly. Mark spoke to Donghyuck a couple of times during those two weeks, and even over the phone Mark could hear the lovesick smile Donghyuck most likely had on his face. Jeno moped around for a few days, but when Mark talked to him, Jeno promised him that he wasn’t jealous; he was just annoyed Donghyuck seemed to pay more attention to Jaemin than he did to him. And that Donghyuck didn’t seem too eager to tell Jaemin about their relationship, and that it felt like a kick in the gut, “Like I’m a secret or something.”_

_“Donghyuck keeps coming over to rehearsal for him,” Jeno whined over the phone. Mark, not for the first time, wished he could return sooner just to wrap Jeno in a hug. “For him! He barely even looks at me anymore.”_

_“He’s exaggerating,” Renjun’s voice came over the speaker. Mark rearranged the covers around his body and turned to face the window, the snowdrops that landed on his windowsill and clouded the glass. “I’ve been to the same rehearsals as Donghyuck and he doesn’t stop staring at Jeno half the time.”_

_Jeno grumbled something, and that topic was dropped then. The three went back to discussing other things, like how Jeno was helping Renjun paint their new apartment, and that Mark would drop his jaw when he saw how good they were making the place look. Mark felt guilty he wasn’t there to help – it was their place, after all, he should have been there to decorate and paint and get everything in order – but Renjun and Jeno were quick to reassure him that he had nothing to apologize for, there would still be plenty of things for him to do when he got back._

_Two weeks later, Mark was back in the city, and he could see for himself what Jeno meant. It was true that Donghyuck seemed smitten with Jaemin, if the amount of time he spent giggling to his phone was any indication, but Mark didn’t think he was any less in love with Jeno because of that. If anything, his eyes were even softer now when he looked at Jeno, and Mark caught him smiling secretly many times, like he knew something Jeno didn’t._

_Mark thought it would be easy. He thought it would be like the time Renjun wanted Jeno to join them, and Jeno had only asked for a few days to think about it, even if the look on his face made it clear what he would say. Mark had only worried a little bit, and Renjun had been on cloud nine even during the wait. When Jeno showed up at their dorm room, a sheepish shuffle of his feet as he told them that he would not mind at all to date Renjun even if Renjun had Mark, Renjun had almost cried, and Mark felt nothing but relief and some giddiness. He didn’t think at the time that Jeno would be interested in him as well, but that didn’t stop him from hoping._

__  
_ _

_Of course, it helped that Renjun was very open about his relationship with Mark since the very beginning. Donghyuck wasn’t, and that’s why, when Jaemin finds Jeno and Donghyuck behind a pillar at the theatre, he runs out and refuses to speak to either of them._

_Mark and Renjun were at the apartment, putting up the final decorations on the living room walls when Jeno burst inside, shaking from head to toe and teary-eyed. He explained to them, through bouts of tears: that he and Donghyuck were kissing, just kissing, away from prying eyes, when Jaemin saw them. That Jaemin was angrier than Jeno had seen him before, that he’d run off before Donghyuck could say anything._

_“Hyuck ran after him,” Jeno finished, stubbornly wiping away a tear. “He didn’t stay. I guess that’s it.”_

_Mark hated to hear that, to hear Jeno so defeated, so resigned. Jeno was clearly convinced that Donghyuck would leave him, and it broke Mark’s heart. Jeno locked himself in their room for days afterwards, and it wasn’t any help that there was a bathroom attached and that Mark indulged him with bringing the food to him. Renjun tried to drag him out, but Jeno didn’t have any intention to leave the bed. He didn’t even shower until two days later, when Mark couldn’t take it any longer and carried him to the bathroom with the threat of kicking him to the couch if he didn’t shower._

_A week after the incident, right after Jeno was back to behaving like a human being, Donghyuck went to the apartment with Jaemin in tow. Mark stared at him for some long seconds in absolute surprise, having already made himself to the idea that they wouldn’t see Donghyuck again – granted, that was only because Jeno was convinced of such, and he rubbed off on the other two. Donghyuck told Mark that he hadn’t meant to take so long, but he’d needed the time to explain to Jaemin, to make sure that they were on the same page before they went any further. Mark said, perhaps a little stiffly, that he should have done the same with Jeno, but he let them inside either way. Renjun was sitting on the kitchen counter, a sketchbook in hand and the kettle about to start whistling with his tea, and he was close to chasing them out when Jeno exited the bedroom and agreed to speak to Donghyuck. The room was full of awkward expectancy, everyone waiting for someone else to break the silence or to make the first move, until Renjun sighed and took Jeno’s wrist gently in his hand and led him to the couch, then did the same to Donghyuck and then Jaemin._

_Donghyuck wouldn’t stop staring at Jeno the entire conversation, as if he was committing him to memory, his eyes so clearly roaming over his messy hair and the circular glasses perched on his nose because Jeno had run out of contacts. It was entertaining enough for Mark to stay at the kitchen with Renjun as they oversaw the meeting, both sipping at Renjun’s honey and lemon tea. Jeno kept trying to shoo them away, but neither listened. They wanted to be there, to make sure that Jeno wasn’t hurt any further. He wasn’t; and after Mark and Renjun sat down with them as well, to explain their side of the story to Jaemin, to explain that he was free to date just Donghyuck, that he didn’t even have to see them that often if he didn’t want to, they got themselves another partner. Not their boyfriend, but that was beyond the point. They all considered each other partners, regardless of who they kissed or cuddled at night._

_The transition wasn’t the easiest, but they made it work. Jaemin, in spite of what Mark suspected, seemed willing, and even eager, to meet them and spend time with them. Mark initially chalked it off as politeness or just Jaemin wanting to be a good boyfriend to Donghyuck, but overtime it became obvious he genuinely liked hanging out with them. Sure, sometimes Renjun and Jaemin would butt heads over the littlest things, but they always got over themselves before the end of the day, and Jeno sometimes felt lonely or left-behind when Donghyuck spent more time with Jaemin than usual, at least until Mark gently reminded him that he should just talk to Donghyuck instead of keeping everything bottled inside._

_The decision to move all together didn’t happen until six months down the road. In that time, Jaemin was able to seamlessly weave into their lives until it was as if he’d always been there, hunched over his laptop in the corner of their living room, revising his practice tapes while Donghyuck cooked in the kitchen and Jeno looked over his shoulder to provide suggestions and praise. Mark can’t pinpoint the exact moment Jaemin becomes fully committed to them, it just happened, but it still feels like something locking into place._

~

By the time everyone’s ready to go, it’s already past two pm. Renjun refuses to get up for almost a full hour, only giving in when Jaemin bribes him with promises of milkshakes and fries from the diner he likes. It’s a cold, rainy day, and they’re all bundled up in layer after layer of clothes, the scarfs Renjun made for everyone in the middle of a crisis at midnight and the winter hats Jeno brought back from his trip to France with his parents.

Donghyuck is forced to wear an extra scarf around his throat by Jaemin, arguing that he has to save his voice for the musical, and at the mention of a play, Renjun nearly turns back around to complete the costumes. Yukhei, thankfully, grabs him by the back of his coat and doesn’t let him go until they’re two blocks away from the house.

There’s not a decided location they will go to, other than the diner. They do as they always do, which is walk around the city until they find something interesting. Mark walks with Yukhei at the back of the group, holding hands inside Yukhei’s coat because Mark gets cold easily and Yukhei is always warm. Jeno and Renjun are right in front of them, Jeno’s arm around Renjun’s shoulder, and Mark can hear them talk about the musical, about the hours Jeno’s crew has spent practicing and Renjun commiserating with his own time in the studio of the house accidentally stabbing his own hand with needles. Jaemin and Donghyuck are a little further away, almost fused into one body and their heads knocking together while watching something on their phones.

“How’d your workshop go?” Mark asks, playing with Yukhei’s fingers. Last night, after Yukhei returned home, there had been no time at all to talk, and Mark felt the tiniest bit bad about that. He’d been too _eager_ after not seeing Yukhei in almost two weeks. “Did you have fun?”

“It was great,” Yukhei rushes out, his face beaming. “I didn’t have to hear about Shakespeare even once! Well, only to agree that all of his characters needed to chill the fuck out, but not more than that. Honestly, the speakers were amazing, and most of them stayed away from the classics and delved into other things, other authors that are just as important…”

Yukhei rambles on and on until they are at the diner. Mark doesn’t mind, not at all, because he enjoys hearing Yukhei talk about his passion like that. His whole face changes when he talks about his major, and even if that is a bit common at their college, it is still refreshing. Yukhei speaks with wide hand gestures and a sprint to his step, and eventually the others migrate to them, all interested to hear. That was the first thing to draw Mark to him, if he thinks about it. How Yukhei seemed to be a magnet, everyone attracted to him by his boisterous laugh and his humour.

The diner they frequent isn’t too crowded today. The staff members know them, even if they think they’re all just a group of very close friends, and Mark is delighted to find their usual table is free. They squeeze into the booth without much trouble, the space enough for the six of them, and order their usual – Jaemin buying a milkshake and fries for Renjun, as promised.

Conversation flows naturally, as they eat. Renjun and Donghyuck put their heads together and pour over Donghyuck’s lines – he’ll be playing Jean, the first time he’s the lead role, and he hasn’t stopped freaking out over it since the roles were announced – with some input from Jeno and Jaemin. Mark and Yukhei, on the other hand, catch up with each other. Yukhei had a hard time adjusting to the idea of a polyamorous relationship, and Mark still feels the need to reassure him that he matters just as much as Renjun and Jeno do, as the others do, to him. Not that Yukhei ever demands for attention, or gets jealous or petty that Mark has other boys in his life, but Mark knows what goes through his mind, because Yukhei is easier to read than he’d care to admit. The last thing he wants is for Yukhei to feel like he’s second best, or even worse, fifth best. Because he’s not, not in a million years. Mark wouldn’t trade him for the world.

“Xuxi,” Donghyuck calls, “you’ve seen Les Mis, is Jean an ass or not?”

Yukhei blinks in surprise. He obviously wasn’t expecting such question to be thrown his way. “That depends,” he says slowly. “I mean, he’s kind of an ass to Fantine, I suppose.”

“Thank you!” Donghyuck exclaims dramatically.

“You can’t base an entire opinion on a character on whether or not they friendzone someone!” Renjun stresses at the same time. This isn’t the first time they have this conversation, Mark has heard them multiple times arguing over Les Mis the past month, and he tunes them out. Jeno and Jaemin are sharing amused smiles, mouthing the arguments that they’ve heard before to each other and giggling.

“You think they’ll ever reach an agreement?” Mark nods towards Renjun and Donghyuck.

Yukhei snorts. “I think arguing about Les Mis is like foreplay for them,” he says. Mark laughs, startled, and Yukhei giggles at his expression.

“You’re absolutely right,” Mark states. “Although, they’ve always been like that, I guess. When they first met, we were about to do Grease, and they argued for hours over Rizzo.”

“Hey, didn’t Jeno play Danny Zuko?” Yukhei asks curiously. Mark nods, thinking back to Jeno in his Danny Zuko costume and deciding he better lock that image in the back of his head and not revisit it anymore. It really isn’t good for his health. “Who was Sandy?”

“Park Siyeon,” Mark says. “She hated the blonde hair but then they gave her the final costume and suddenly she was fine with everything else.”

“Sandy does look great in the last costume,” Yukhei agrees.

“Olivia Newton-John looked hot as fuck,” Donghyuck intervenes. Apparently, he’d been listening to the conversation – they all were. “Although,” Donghyuck hums, “Jeno looked pretty damn fine in his costume, too.”

Renjun looks at Mark on cue, as does Jeno. They’re both wearing shit-eating grins on their faces. Mark slurps at his milkshake and looks anywhere but at them. Jaemin looks at Mark with narrowed eyes and then he breaks out into a smile. Mark wishes for the ground to swallow him when Jaemin opens his mouth and says, “Why were you smiling at him like that? Did I miss something?”

“Well,” Renjun drawls, and Mark hates him, “Mark had a lot of thoughts about Jeno as Danny. Didn’t you, Mark?”

“I hate you,” Mark voices. “So much.”

Renjun doesn’t even seem that bothered by the knowledge, only continues to smile at him like the absolute dick he is. Jeno, at least, tones it down for Mark’s sake and distracts Jaemin with a random question about the choreography and Donghyuck returns to his discussion with Renjun – somehow, they’re talking about Rent now, and Mark has never even seen that play before to say he has an opinion. Yukhei, however, has a curious glint in his eyes. Mark is a little tempted to tell him how, if it weren’t for that damn play, Mark probably would have never had the guts to confess to Jeno, but it’s also such an embarrassing story… as embarrassing as precious, Mark thinks.

“Do you wanna see a movie, tomorrow?” Mark says instead. “Just the two of us.”

If Yukhei is surprised to hear the invitation, he makes no comment on it. He simply nods, a bashful smile blooming on his face. Mark wonders what he could have possibly done to deserve someone like Yukhei.

~

_Yukhei isn't in any play, unlike the others. He’s not a dance major, he doesn’t share any classes with any of them, and he has zero knowledge on theatre beyond the few books he’s had to read for his major that inspired famous plays. Yukhei is a literature major, languages minor, part of the basketball team at their college and quite possibly the tallest guy at the whole campus. He’s impossible to miss, one might say. That is why Mark felt even worse when he ran into Yukhei in a hallway._

_The hallway was deserted (thank fuck) but Mark was still embarrassed to death. He apologized what felt like a hundred times, helping the stranger – not really stranger, since Mark knew who he was, but they were never properly introduced – pick up his papers. Yukhei only laughed it off, told Mark that he didn’t need to be so terrified, it was fine. Mark was twenty-two years old, less than a year away from his degree, yet he still blushed like a teenager when Yukhei smiled a mega-watt smile at him and introduced himself. Since they seemed to be headed in the same direction, they walked together, and Mark might not be a genius, but he was aware Yukhei was flirting with him. It was as exhilarating as it was strange._

_He couldn’t remember the last time anyone flirted with him so openly. Donghyuck didn’t count; Donghyuck flirted with all of them, Mark had no aspirations it meant anything other than what it seemed. But Yukhei wasn’t part of their relationship, didn’t live with them, he didn’t even know him. Yukhei was a breath of fresh air, even if Mark hated to think of him like that, because it sounded like he was tired of his boys. And Mark would never, will ever, grow tired of them._

_For the next month, Mark was hyperaware of Yukhei. Before, he’d only been vaguely conscious of the boy, because it was kind of hard not to notice him, but then it was like Mark saw him everywhere, or at the very least heard him everywhere. It was exhausting, honestly, to be so on edge all the time. And over a boy, to top it off. Whenever Yukhei saw him, he greeted him like an old friend, all smiles and happiness. And he kept flirting, Jesus, Mark felt faint-hearted and he was far too young for that._

_So, it was not much of a surprise when Yukhei asked him out. Mark still panicked, of course, but said yes in the end. He really did want to go out with him, in spite of his initial doubts: he was worried he wouldn’t have time; that Renjun and Jeno would feel neglected, until he thought about how miserable Jeno was before he got the guts to date Donghyuck and realised he didn’t want to go through the same._

_Yukhei picked him up at the house. Mark had to fight off the guys, because they were annoying shits, but they still pressed their faces to the windows on either side of the front door and watched in mirth as Mark stuttered and stumbled his way through a greeting. When Yukhei asked, Mark called them his stupid housemates – not a full lie, but not the full truth either. He thought about telling Yukhei the entire truth right then but he didn’t get the chance._

_The entire date, Mark was on the verge of combustion. Yukhei was a gentleman, holding the door for Mark and asking him endless questions about him. He was also fucking smart, if Mark said so, and he was full of anecdotes and random facts about everything. They went to a rooftop bar close to campus, one that Mark didn’t even know existed before Yukhei told him they had the best cocktails a university student could afford, and they sat at a table close to the railing so they could watch the city as they talked and drank. Yukhei confided he was originally from Glasgow, moved to London on an academic scholarship, and that he’d done his best to disguise the accent because he always got funny looks when he spoke; that his roommate turned out to be from Perth and they quickly became good friends; that his mother sent him pictures of his dogs nearly every day._

_Mark decided, pretty quickly, that he wanted to see Yukhei again. And in order to do that, he had to be honest and tell Yukhei about his relationship status. Later, they stood in front of Mark’s house, Yukhei playing idly with Mark’s fingers as Mark struggled to find the right words to tell him about the other boys. Mark opened his mouth, an unintelligible stream of words spewing out, and suddenly Yukhei was kissing him._

_“Sorry,” Yukhei giggled sheepishly when they parted, “I couldn’t resist. You were saying?”_

_Mark forgot. He’d totally forgotten what he was trying to say, all because Yukhei kissed him. Mark shook his head and brought Yukhei down for another kiss, fumbling with the doorknob to go inside, not too eager to make out in the open. Yukhei let Mark press him against the door once they were inside, the two shaking off their coats. Mark managed to drop his jacket to the ground, Yukhei’s tongue sneaking into his mouth and making Mark’s knees tremble, when Mark heard a low whistle come from behind and above them._

_They sprung apart as if burnt. Mark swung around and found Jeno and Jaemin leaning over the small balcony on the top floor that overlooked the entrance hall. They both were grinning annoyingly and Jeno even dared wiggle his eyebrows when Mark made eye contact with him. As annoyed as Mark was, he still had the presence of mind to be glad Jeno didn’t seem to mind that Mark was making out with Yukhei. So, you know, small blessings and all._

_“Oh, please,” Jaemin said, still smiling, “don’t stop on our account.”_

_“Go away,” Mark mumbled, but they could still hear him. The house was silent, which meant that Renjun and Donghyuck were probably asleep._

_Jaemin did, with a parting wave and a shit-eating grin still on his face as he disappeared into his and Donghyuck’s shared room at the back of the hall, but Jeno shook his head and said, “Can’t, I was on my way to the kitchen.” Mark watched him go down the stairs and approach them, his eyes disappearing into crinkles as he ruffled Mark’s hair and asked if he had a good time._

_Mark’s brain shut down momentarily. That’s the only excuse he had for what he did next: he held onto Jeno’s waist before the boy could continue walking and pulled him in, landed a smooch on the corner of his mouth before Jeno stumbled back with widened eyes and a panicked expression on his face as he looked behind Mark. And then Mark remembered Yukhei was there, and he hadn’t told him anything yet, and Mark was an idiot, just to summarize._

_Yukhei would have left if Jeno didn’t stop him and urged him to talk to Mark first. Mark was infinitely grateful to him for doing that. It was difficult to explain, and Mark was at a loss for words too many times to count – he wondered how the others had managed to do this before, because he honestly felt exhausted five minutes into the conversation. Mark kind of wished Jeno had stayed with him, even if it was only because he wanted someone to hold his hand._

_Renjun came downstairs at some moment. He was sleepy, stumbling around the living room in search for the kitchen. His eyes locked with Mark’s and he immediately went for him, flopping down on the couch next to him, a drowsy smile on his face as he cuddled up to Mark and went back to sleep. He didn’t even notice Yukhei’s presence at all._

_Yukhei stared at him for a second. There was something strange in his eyes, a reluctant acceptance. “Is he one of your boyfriends?” he asked. Mark could tell the plural of the word made him uncomfortable._

_“Yeah.” Because, really, what else could Mark say? He couldn’t lie, not about something like this. And, he figured, if Yukhei wasn’t okay with the conditions of their relationship, then it was better they parted ways now than weeks or months down the road._

_They stayed in an awkward silence that stretched for minutes on end. Mark tried to focus on Renjun’s steady breathing and to match him with his own so he could stay calm as he waited for Yukhei’s verdict. He sneaked furtive glances at the other boy several times, but came up empty handed every time, Yukhei’s expression guarded; there was really no way for Mark to begin to guess what he was thinking._

_After what felt like ages, Yukhei said, slowly, that he really liked Mark, and that he was curious about the whole arrangement, and the he wouldn’t mind going on a second date with Mark if Mark promised not to drop any more bombs as this one on him without previous notice. Mark sagged in relief, even if the movement accidentally jostled Renjun. Given how far in the evening it was, Yukhei called a cab and went back to his flat after setting up another date with Mark. Mark didn’t even mind having to carry Renjun’s sleeping body back to bed._

_Jeno, in his sleepy haste, insisted Mark slept between them for the night, unlike how he usually does at either side of the bed, claiming he had a lot of excitement happen in his life that day and deserved quality cuddles. Mark let Jeno tug him down and use him as a pillow, his thoughts straying to Yukhei and a hopeful fluttering settling on his chest that lulled him to sleep._

~

After they’re done eating, and after Jeno and Jaemin are done arguing over who should pay for Renjun’s meal – with the boy trying to chime in to say he can pay for himself, thank you very much – they leave the diner. As they walk, the pairs switch up and Mark finds himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Donghyuck, the two of them brushing hands every other step.

Mark still doesn’t know where he stands with Donghyuck. Donghyuck is Jeno’s boyfriend, Jaemin’s boyfriend, Renjun’s best friend, Mark’s… housemate? Partner? Definitely, yes, but what does that mean? Mark feels somewhat silly for wondering about those things, especially when thinking about Donghyuck, but he can’t help it. He’s just tired of never knowing if he’s gone too far whenever they’re together.

Like when they’re having movie nights at the house and Donghyuck will cuddle with _him_ instead of with his boyfriends. Not that any of them seems to care, not even when Donghyuck nuzzles under Mark’s chin or falls asleep tucked against his side. Mark doesn’t care, either; he actually likes it, in a way, even if only because Donghyuck is incredibly cuddly and warm and smells like baby shampoo.

“Hey,” Donghyuck says suddenly. They’d been walking in silence, for reasons Mark doesn’t know. “What’s wrong with my boyfriend?”

“Which one?” Mark snorts. Up ahead, both Jeno and Jaemin are walking with their heads hanging low and their shoulders slumped.

“Jeno,” Donghyuck clarifies. “Although, if you know what’s wrong with Jaemin, I’d really appreciate you telling me.”

Mark hesitates to tell him. Not about Jeno, since it’s something that concerns him and Renjun as well, but to tell him about Jaemin. Jaemin said to him what he said in confidence, and even if Mark doesn’t think it’s too much of a big deal, he doesn’t think Jaemin would be too pleased to hear Mark sold him out.

“Jeno is upset because he thinks Renjun listens to me more than to him,” Mark tells him. “I don’t know, it feels like a snowball kind of thing, you know? I’ve been meaning to talk to Renjun about it but I’ve never really had the chance. Don’t worry about it, though, I’ll work it out.”

“As usual,” Donghyuck says. Mark looks at him and sees Donghyuck has a small smile playing at his lips, his eyes honest. The vote of confidence does strange things to Mark’s heart. “And… Jaem?”

“I,” Mark stutters, “I think you should ask him, instead.”

Donghyuck hums in understatement. Mark is glad that Donghyuck doesn’t get mad at him for withholding information – the number one rule in the house is to talk to each other, not to keep secrets, and the few times said rule has been broken, it’s been just shy of catastrophic.

“Let’s go in there.” The next thing Mark knows, he’s being dragged by the hand into a store he’s never seen before. None of the others follow them.

The store smells strongly of incense and it’s illuminated in a low, yellow glow. There are drawings on the wall, from carbon sketches to oil paintings, and what isn’t framed and nailed is painted straight on the wall. Donghyuck examines the artwork with a keen eye, born from years and years of going to museums and art galleries with his father. Mark isn’t as well trained as he is, but he still can tell it’s a beautiful handiwork. None of the paintings have price tags, however, and Mark guesses they aren’t part of the inventory.

At the back of the room is the counter, an old man manning the cash register, although he seems more interested in the magazine he’s reading. He looked up when they walked in, and then he does so again when Donghyuck calls his attention to ask for something kept inside a glass cabinet. Mark is relieved that the man doesn’t bat an eye at their joined hands.

Mark’s phone rings while Donghyuck peers into a plastic bowl full of charms and pendants. A glance at the caller ID tells Mark it’s Renjun who’s calling him.

“What’s up?” Mark answers. Renjun snorts over the speakers, eerily in sync with Donghyuck.

“Where’d you guys go?” Renjun asks. As always, Jeno steals his phone to say hi to Mark before he lets Renjun have his device back. “You disappeared into thin air.”

“Hyuck wanted to check out some store so we went inside.” Mark squeezes Donghyuck’s hand when the younger boy pouts up at him, as if to ask if Mark is okay with the impromptu kidnapping.

“Okay, you guys can meet up with us at the amusement park, then? Xuxi and Jaemin want to buy corndogs, you want?”

“Yeah, I do. Hyuck, you want corndogs?” Donghyuck gives an affirmative right away, and Mark relays the message. Renjun hums, gives a goodbye and Mark reciprocates before they end the call.

“Do you like this?” Donghyuck is holding up a small pendant shaped like a star. “I want to get something for everyone but since you’re here, you get a say in it.”

Mark grins, a little coyly. “It’s very pretty,” he says honestly. “What are you getting the others?”

“It’s a surprise,” Donghyuck chastises him and turns away. Mark pouts, but allows Donghyuck to pay for the pendants on his own. They leave the store shortly after that, walking hand in hand this time. Donghyuck’s hand is warm and just a tad smaller than Mark’s, his fingers interlocked with Mark’s.

They’re a block away from the amusement park, the trees and the rollercoaster visible in their lines of sight, when Donghyuck suddenly pulls Mark into a nearby alley. It’s empty, thank goodness, and Donghyuck leads him to a shadowy section, just steps away from the sidewalk.

Mark holds back from asking what Donghyuck is doing when he notices the conflicted expression he’s wearing. Instead, Mark keeps their hands intertwined, rubbing circles on his skin with his thumb and waits patiently.

“I know you don’t like to wear necklaces much,” Donghyuck starts, letting go of their joined hands to fumble with the plastic bag that’s holding the pendants, “other than your cross, I mean, but I was hoping that you would wear this one.”

Donghyuck finally pulls the pendant out, hanging from a silver chain – it’s the only charm attached to a chain, the others lying loose at the bottom of the bag. His hands are shaking as he unclasps the chain and brings the necklace to Mark’s neck, until Mark brings his own up and helps him clasp it around his neck. Donghyuck sighs, somewhere between relief and steeling himself.

Their hands stay together after the necklace is secure. Donghyuck is still shaking in Mark’s hold. Mark feels a sharp blush make its way to his cheeks when Donghyuck locks eyes with him and says, both shyly and sure of himself, “Because you’re my star.”

“Hyuck,” Mark breathes out. Donghyuck looks crestfallen for a second before Mark continues, “I’ve been calling you a star in my head ever since you auditioned for Into The Woods and knocked everyone on their asses.”

Donghyuck smiles. It’s not the smile that Mark is used to seeing around campus, confident and bright; and it isn’t the smile he sees at the house, either, genuine and lovely. It’s a combination of both and different at the same time, so unique it hurts. It feels like a smile reserved just for him.

“I know you have plans with Xuxi tomorrow,” Donghyuck starts. His hands are still on Mark’s shoulder, slowly inching their way to wrap around his neck, and Mark uses his own hands to pull Donghyuck just that bit closer to him by the waist. “But, I was wondering if you would like to do something on Wednesday? Just the two of us, I mean,” he clarifies.

There’s something so vulnerable about Donghyuck right now, as if he’s expecting Mark to say no. As if Mark would ever do that. “I’d love to.”

Donghyuck brightens up so fast. Mark smiles as well, noting for the first time how close they are standing, and he thinks he could count all of Donghyuck’s eyelashes if he wanted – he doesn’t, but he does drop a kiss to a mole near Donghyuck’s eye instead.

“I really don’t want our first kiss to be in the middle of an alley,” Mark laughs quietly, “so that will have to do for now.”

“I beg to differ,” Donghyuck disagrees. His hands curl on the fabric of Mark’s coat briefly, then he’s tugging Mark down, their lips coming in contact. It’s simple, a barely-there touch, and then he’s letting go, taking Mark’s hand and leading him back out of the alley. “Come on, Renjun and Jeno are probably thinking I killed you and dumped your body in the Thames river.”

“That sounds too specific for comfort.”

“The less you know the better.”

~

_Mark could tell pretty quickly that there was something wrong with Jeno. They’d recently taken the next step in their relationship, and now they were a confirmed trio. They were even talking about moving in together, although they wouldn’t do so for months. With the amount of time they were spending together, both in and out of the theatre, Mark learnt to read Jeno like a book, much how he did Renjun._

_The first time Mark noticed something was off was during the open call auditions for “Into the Woods.” They were both sitting near the back of the auditorium, sharing a 30cm Subway sandwich and pretending they couldn’t see Renjun’s exasperated expression every time he turned their way. According to Mark, and Jeno was inclined to believe him, as long as Heechul didn’t see them, all was good._

_A hush fell in the room when Heechul walked in. The front rows were filled with theatre majors hopeful to make the cut, but the middle and back rows were all production team members, the dance crew and others who were interested in watching the auditions._

_Most of the kids auditioning were good, but not unforgettable. A girl sang “You Are Not Alone” and nailed it, but her name totally flew over Mark’s head. Someone didn’t show to the audition – and that was a mistake, especially if you ever wanted to work with Heechul again, both in and out of the university – and then Donghyuck Lee was called on stage. At first glance, Mark didn’t pay much attention to him: he was dressed normally, his fringe fell a little over his eyes and his jeans were well-worn. But he walked confidently on stage, and when he pushed his hair back and smiled as he talked about something with Heechul, he really came to life._

_Donghyuck sang “Hello, Little Girl” in a surprisingly accurate rendition of the Big Bad Wolf. His voice was beautiful and compelling and Mark found himself clapping along with Heechul when he was over. Jeno seemed just as amazed as Mark, and it wasn’t until after the audition day was over that Jeno told him that he knew Donghyuck from boarding school. The way he said it let Mark know there was more to that story than he was letting on, but Mark didn’t want to push._

_The next time they saw Donghyuck, he was in Mark’s and Renjun’s shared dorm room, getting measured for his costume. Renjun explained that there was simply no time to do it anywhere else and that he’d been chasing the other actors around campus for two weeks._

_“So, why the wolf?” Mark asked. He wasn’t just trying to make small talk, he was genuinely curious to know. “Doesn’t he, like, die? In the same scene he appears?”_

_“Yeah, but he’s got an entire solo song and a cool hat,” Donghyuck wiggled his eyebrows. He was wearing said cool hat while Renjun cut up an eye patch for him. Donghyuck was sat on Renjun’s vacant bed, Renjun hunched over his desk with his sewing machine, and Mark was lounging in bed, when Jeno came around. He was winded, sweaty and tired from dance practice, but he needed to borrow a textbook from Mark for Music Theory and his dorm was on the other side of campus._

_Donghyuck and Jeno stared at each other with gaping mouths for a long, awkward moment. Renjun was none the wiser, too preoccupied with his costumes, but Mark was free to watch them with all the interest he had. Jeno looked mortified and strangely excited, whereas Donghyuck’s expression suggested he’d just seen a ghost. Strangely, it was Jeno who spoke first._

_“Hyuck.” It wasn’t more than a whisper. Renjun swivelled around on his chair, took in the scene before him, and leaned back with his arms crossed and an amused glint in his eyes. Mark still had no idea what was going on. “What are you doing here?”_

_“Renjun was taking my measurements, for the play,” Donghyuck mumbled. “And you?”_

_Jeno didn’t answer right away. Mark couldn’t tell if it was because he couldn’t find the words, because he didn’t know how to explain their relationship to him or because he didn’t want to admit he was taken. “I’m here to borrow Mark’s textbook,” Jeno finally pushed out._

_He had to get past Renjun to reach the textbook. Renjun raised an eyebrow in his direction that Jeno tried to ignore, but Mark could still see him gulp. Jeno halted in the middle of the small room, his eyes darted from Mark to Donghyuck to Renjun and to the floor before he said, “Uh, Mark and Renjun are actually my boyfriends…” and trailed off. He was definitely, completely lost for words. Then he ran out._

_Weeks went by. Jeno avoided Donghyuck to the best of his ability at rehearsal just as much as he evaded talking about him with Renjun or Mark. Donghyuck visibly sulked whenever Jeno ran away at the sight of him. Mark and Renjun shared exasperatedly knowing glances at their expenses. The preparations for the play continued without a hitch._

_It came to an end before the costume rehearsals. Mark was sitting on stage with some of the stage designers when it happened, helping them paint a wooden door and the trees for the forest. Donghyuck was on the front row and poking at the fangs in his mouth. Renjun was nowhere to be seen._

_Jeno halted in the middle of the hall and stared at Donghyuck for some long seconds. Mark kept his eyes to himself, but every nerve in his body was hyperaware of Jeno, his ears straining to notice anything. Jeno seemed to make up his mind and diverted his route to where Donghyuck was sat, claiming his attention and leading him to the back of the theatre. Mark mourned the loss of his opportunity to hear what they said, but it was probably for the best. It would be rude to intrude._

_He heard from Jeno, later in the day, that he asked Donghyuck out on a date, and Donghyuck said yes. Jeno told him that he’d done his best to explain things to him and Donghyuck, if hesitant, said that he was okay with it, as long as Jeno was always one hundred per cent honest with him._

_Renjun was glad to hear the news. Like Mark, he was tired of seeing Jeno mope and feel like shit, and they knew it would all go away the moment he acted on his obvious feelings for Donghyuck. And finally, Jeno told them the story behind their previous interactions: in boarding school, Jeno and Donghyuck were classmates, the only two Korean boys in their entire year, and they’d bonded over shared lunches and movie nights at their dorms while their roommates were off with their own friends. Somewhere along the line, they caught feelings, things escalated, only to crash and burn when Donghyuck’s dad moved to Ireland and took his son with him. They never saw each other again until that faithful day at Renjun’s and Mark’s dorm._

_Jeno was the most nervous Mark had ever seen him on the day of his date. He borrowed their bathroom to shower and get ready, with Renjun gawking for a minute when he saw how dashing Jeno looked; he’d asked Renjun to help him choose his outfit, and he’d definitely outdone himself, dressing Jeno in fancy but casual clothes and styling his hair off his forehead. Jeno left at a quarter to six with a pep talk rom Mark and a good luck kiss from Renjun, and then returned to their dorm near midnight with a bright smile and a guaranteed second date._

_The four of them sat down to talk a week after the third date. The play was just around the corner and tensions were high, but they did the best they could to ignore the looming stress and instead focused on getting to know each other – Mark and Renjun spoke to Donghyuck on a regular basis, but always under the guise of preparations, song rehearsals and costume disasters. This was an opportunity to talk outside of the pretext of responsibilities._

_Donghyuck had a surprisingly similar personality to Renjun’s; they said the same thing in unison twice and quickly bonded over shared hobbies and interests. In the meantime, Mark and Donghyuck developed a strange friendship, one that seemed to consist more of annoying each other and bickering than anything else, but there was no denying the fondness they had for each other. Jeno was over the moon to see them all get along so well and he didn’t stop beaming the entire evening, even after going back to their separate dorms._

_The move to the apartment could only be possible thanks to Jeno’s parents. Granted, they didn’t know about the current state of their relationship, all they knew was that he hated the dorms and wanted to take his friends with him. They invited Donghyuck to move with them, but he declined, saying he felt it was too soon to do such thing, but that he’d support them all the way. Jeno’s parents handed over a blank check with their signatures and assured them there would be no need to pay them back, because they’d be busy enough making payments for the utilities and groceries and other necessities – Mark suddenly loved Jeno’s parents more than he loved Jeno._

_Donghyuck was true to his words and supported them every step of the way, went browsing for flats with them, helped them pack what little they had at their dorms, went furniture shopping with them and even threw them a mini housewarming party; it was just the four of them, but Mark thought it was the sweetest gesture._

~

The amusement park is packed to the brim with patrons. Donghyuck and Mark weave their way through the crowd, searching with their eyes for the rest of the boys. Hours have gone by since they left the house and it is already close to five pm, the sun glowing orange in the sky, and the park has fewer families now and more teenagers and young adults running around in groups. There’s a big tent smack dab in the middle of the park, where the food court and most stores are in, and the rest of the area is littered with mechanical and manual games, the rollercoaster that wraps around the park the biggest attraction. The Ferris wheel isn’t the largest in the city but it still offers a pretty nice view and the top-drop never fails to make Mark feel like his insides are trying to escape him by force. A gaggle of kids zooms past them, a harried looking mom chasing after them.

“Do you think they could be at the haunted house?” Donghyuck asks hopefully.

Mark looks at him knowingly. “We could always go check,” he concedes. Donghyuck cheers quietly and takes off in the direction of the black, tattered house on the other side of the park.

They’re halfway there when they run into the other boys – quite literally, because Jeno was running away from Jaemin when he barrelled into Mark and knocked them both to the ground. Mark groans from underneath Jeno and blinks away the black spots dancing in front of his eyes, unwilling to move right away. Jeno is slightly better off than he is, having landed on something soft, after all, and he gets up in a hurry, a stream of apologies falling from his lips as he helps Mark off the ground as well.

Donghyuck is very clearly holding back his laughter, as is Renjun. Jaemin is openly laughing at them, while Yukhei looks on in concern and amusement.

“Why are you two running around?” Mark asks. His head is pounding – he might have a concussion. He’s dying. “Fuck, that hurts,” he whines, cradling his head tenderly.

That shuts them up pretty quickly. Jeno makes a distressed sound at the back of his throat and leads Mark to a nearby bench where Mark sits down and realizes, belatedly, that the world is spinning around him. He says as much to them and Renjun breaks through the glob of bodies to check Mark’s head.

“Shit, you’re bleeding,” Renjun whispers. Then, at the panicked expressions on the boys’ faces, he adds, “I mean, just a little! Seriously, come look, it’s not that bad.”

Jeno stays rooted in the spot. He’s beating himself up for it, Mark knows, and he wants to soothe his worries, tell him it’s not his fault, but he thinks he might throw up if he opens his mouth, so he settles for taking his hand and squeezing. It takes Jeno a few seconds, but he squeezes back.

“Isn’t there a park doctor or something?” Donghyuck asks. “Like, an emergency booth or a nurse or?”

“I’ll go get help,” Yukhei says. He’s gone before anyone else can say otherwise.

In the meantime, Renjun takes the scarf around his neck and presses it to the side of Mark’s head, where the pain is most concentrated. Mark feels a sting of pain, then the trickle of blood he hadn’t even noticed running down his neck stops. Jaemin, much like Jeno, stays at the edge of the group, and he’s biting his lips raw. Donghyuck flutters around Mark and keeps talking to him – he’s either trying to keep Mark awake or chatting to ease his own nerves, maybe both.

“Xuxi doesn’t like blood,” Mark says. He feels drowsy, but he doesn’t share that bit of information in fear it’ll freak everyone out even more.

“Stop talking,” Renjun snaps. In a much gentler tone of voice, he says, “Please, Mark, don’t waste your energy, just stay awake.” Mark thinks he nods. His vision is a little blurry now.

Before long, Yukhei is back, and there’s a man in white slacks and a doctor’s coat with him. The doctor crouches in front of Mark and makes him follow the light on his tiny flashlight with his eyes, then his finger, asks him for his name and if he knows, where he is. Mark doesn’t pass the test at all and he almost falls on his face when he’s asked to stand up. Five pairs of steadying hands prevent him from doing so, and afterwards the doctor helps him to his office in the park. They’re not too far from the administration house, and his office is just a room on the bottom floor with a stretcher, several first aid kits, an oxygen tank and a few other medical utilities.

Mark sits on the stretcher at the doctor’s order and places his hands on his lap. The boys are told to wait outside, in spite of their loud protests, so Mark is alone inside the four white walls of the office.

The first thing the doctor does is wheel a big, white machine to the side of the stretcher and turns it on. “This is an X-ray machine,” the doctor says. “Your wound doesn’t look too big but you definitely have a concussion and I need to make sure there’s no fracture. I need you to wear this.”

The X-rays don’t take much time. Mark is amazed at the speed in which they get the results and the doctor is delighted to tell him there’s no fracture.

“I’m going to give you some anaesthesia now,” the doctor informs him. Mark is pretty sure he introduced himself as doctor Stevens, but that he could call him Luke. The needle is long and Mark winces the second it comes in contact with his scalp. “You’re going to need seven stitches, Mark. You’re lucky, though, it could have been worse.”

Seven stitches sounds like a lot. Mark says, “Seven stitches sounds like a lot.”

The doctor chuckles. “I know. You’ll feel woozy for a while, but it’ll be over soon.”

Mark can’t see anything while the doctor works on his head. Mark can’t feel anything, either. Before he knows it, the doctor is walking around the stretcher and handing him a small mirror to look at the results.

There, barely visible between his hair, are seven stitches holding his scalp together. Mark marvels at the wonders of medicine while the doctor browses through the drawers of his desk and produces a small bottle of pills. “These are painkillers,” he says, “take one tonight after the anaesthesia effects are over and take one when you feel pain for the rest of the week, but you need to wait at least ten to twelve hours between one pill and the other. And go to a hospital tomorrow for further instructions. Here, take this note from me, it explains everything you have to do in case you forget and this other one is for the doctors at the hospital. And now, you’re good to go!”

Jeno has dry tear tracks on his cheeks. Jaemin’s eyes are suspiciously red. Renjun is pacing the outside of the administration house in worry. Donghyuck and Yukhei are sitting on a boulder and talking in hushed tones. They all perk up when they see him, but then they frown at the hand on his elbow and the clear unsteadiness of his steps.

“I gave him anaesthesia for the stitches,” the doctor tells them, “that’s why he’s like this. I gave him a doctor’s note and he has to hand it over tomorrow at a hospital or clinic of his convenience for a follow-up. He’ll be fine, though. You should take him home and make sure he drinks lots of water and has no straining physical activities for a couple of days.”

Donghyuck is the first to break out of his stupor. He takes Mark from the doctor gently and says, in a playful tone, “You heard him, Mark. Let’s go home, doctor’s orders.”

~

_The house was for rent, only two bus rides away from campus and with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a spare room on the bottom floor that they turned into a studio. Jeno and Donghyuck insisted on paying for rent themselves and everyone knew it was because the two come from rich families and wouldn’t have a problem with it, even if no one said it. Jeno’s parents didn’t even blink when he told them he was moving out, simply said he should keep the flat in case he needed privacy, and then sent him a housewarming present that nearly knocked Mark’s socks off: a flat LED screen, which they hung in the living room. Jaemin took one look at the box and said, seriously, “So, I’m marrying Jeno.”_

_Jeno only blushed to the tip of his ears and grumbled at him to shut up._

_It didn’t take much to get the place to look exactly how they wanted it. It came furnished, which was a relief because Mark actually wanted to keep their things at the flat – it was their first home together and he selfishly wanted to preserve it. They only took the things they absolutely needed, like their clothes, home electronics, books and other personal items; like the cups that held their toothbrushes in the sink, the quilt that they kept over the back of the couch in case they got cold and the polaroid pictures that decorated the bedroom walls. But the bed they slept in, the couch they all crashed in during date nights when they didn’t want to go out and the recliner in the corner of the room where Jaemin spent most of his time stayed put._

_The front of the house had a small garden. Well, it wasn’t much more than two patches of green grass on either side of the ceramic pathway that led from the sidewalk to the three steps up to the door, brown picket fences marking the beginning of their property. But they made it a garden, the first weekend after they moved in._

_Choosing the sleeping arrangements took more time than expected. Logically, someone would get a bedroom to themselves, and Jaemin would be the clear answer, since he was only dating Donghyuck, but Donghyuck argued that he didn’t want Jaemin to feel lonely at night, and that option was discarded and Donghyuck and Jaemin moved into one of the bedrooms together. Then, it was only Renjun, Jeno and Mark who were left to reach a deal. Jeno offered himself, said that Mark and Renjun were together for longer and that he didn’t mind, but the two of them were adamant to say that he was with them and he shouldn’t think of himself as an extra, as he so clearly did._

_They eventually decided to leave a spare bedroom empty. They were already sleeping in the same bed while they reached a decision and all they had to do was permanently unpack all their things in the room, either way. The three take the bedroom down the hall, the one with the bathroom attached and the walk-in closet. Mark expected Donghyuck to complain, at least jokingly, but the boy never said a word._

_It was fun living in a house with so many people, although Mark suspected his enjoyment had a lot to do with him adoring said people. There were many impromptu sleepovers in one room at the beginning of their time in the house, sometimes falling asleep all together in the living room, but overtime the novelty wore off and they were back to their regular sleeping schedules. Renjun began to spend a lot of time in the studio with his sewing machine and his canvases, often times accompanied by Mark sitting at the piano to work on his scores. Jeno and Jaemin took over the spare bedroom, getting rid of all the furniture in it to practice their dance numbers or to just dance for fun, putting up several mirrors on one wall and everything. Donghyuck didn’t really need a special room to rehearse – he was loud and dramatic everywhere in the house._

_There were challenges, of course. Grocery shopping, as innocent as it may sound, turned out to be a nightmare: there were too many boys with big appetites and sometimes it felt like food didn’t last longer than a day; every day chores such as dishes and laundry were a battlefield if anyone forgot it was their turn; one person being too loud early in the morning or late at night was usually met with socks thrown at them or banging on their door._

_There were times when Mark wished to hide away somewhere they couldn’t find him just to get some minutes to himself, minutes of peace and quiet. Mark knew it was a fleeting annoyance and he didn’t really want to be apart from them forever, but it sure felt like it. Mark could get so bothered by little things: Donghyuck singing at six am while he cooked breakfast when Mark was trying to get some extra shut eye or Renjun’s constant nagging to put the dirty clothes on the hamper or Jeno’s nervous hovering over him to make sure he was eating well. They were stupid things, but Mark still got irritated and he knew he wasn’t the only one. For a while, tensions were high in the house and everyone was on edge._

_It came to a stop one Friday night when Jeno didn’t return home until midnight. His phone was off and no one seemed to know where he was; they even called Hyunjin, his previous roommate and dance crew partner, to ask if he was there or said where he’d be going after dance rehearsal, but Hyunjin was just as clueless as they were. Jaemin and Mark went looking for him everywhere they could think of and Renjun and Donghyuck stayed at the house in case he came back._

_When he finally showed up, Mark didn’t know if he felt relieved or pissed off. Perhaps both, if he’s being honest. Renjun yelled, Donghyuck yelled, Jaemin sat on the bottom step of the stairs and stared at Jeno with hardened eyes. Mark stood in silence and waited to hear Jeno’s story._

_“I was at the flat,” Jeno said briefly. He didn’t look anyone in the eyes. “I needed time to think.” It was like those words poured a bucket of ice water over all of them and Mark’s eyes widened, a gut sinking feeling in his stomach. “I’m sorry I didn’t call, I didn’t notice the time until half an hour ago.”_

_“What were you thinking about?” Renjun asked. He sounded meek and like he didn’t want to hear the answer._

_Jeno didn’t speak for several seconds. “I needed a break, I guess. I was tired of tiptoeing around the house, but I’m okay now. Actually, I’m glad we kept the flat, otherwise I would have blown up on one of you sooner or later,” he chuckled nervously. Just like that, the flat became the place to go when they were overwhelmed, and afterwards they would go back to the house, say whatever was bothering them, and work it out._

_The flat stops many bombs from going off in their relationships, and slowly but surely, it becomes less often for any of them to need to use it. Mark thinks they’re growing up._

~

Yukhei runs upstairs the second they get home to fetch Mark’s pillows and blanket. They don’t want him sleeping in his room for the night, in case he needs to drink water and ends up falling down the stairs to certain death. Mark thinks they’re exaggerating, even if just a little bit, but he appreciates the concern.

He does not, however, appreciate the others crowding around him like he’s some sort of new-born child and in need of constant supervision. They’d forgone walking and instead took a cab home, and during the ride the anaesthesia effects wore off and Mark starts to feel the throbbing in his head, so when he steps out of the car, he winces and has to reach out for the door to stay upright and it resulted in everyone going helicopter mom on him.

“I have a concussion, I’m not invalid,” Mark stresses for what feels like the hundredth time. No one pays him any mind, all too busy doing whatever they think is best for him at the moment.

Mark sighs and lets his head fall back on the headrest of the couch, his eyes slipping close. His mind starts to wander to the things he has to do for the week – he has a Spanish test on prepositions and conjugations on Thursday and then on Friday there’s a sound check with Heechul, but the rest of the week is wide open. He and Donghyuck could go out on any other day – the thought brings a smile to his face.

“Oh, no, he’s smiling; do you think there’s brain damage?”

“It’s just a smile.”

“There’s nothing funny going on!”

“The doctor said he checked for fractures but he didn’t do a MRI.”

Mark cracks one eye open and says, “I don’t have brain damage, I was just thinking about something nice. Chill the fuck out.”

A murmur of relief, agreement and reluctance rings around the room. Mark closes his eyes again to shield them from the harsh lightning of their living room and focuses on breathing steadily, his head pounding. A cell phone goes off – Mark recognizes it as Yukhei’s ringtone – and then the owner is escaping the living room. Mark can hear Jeno and Donghyuck giggling about whatever in the kitchen, and then Renjun is sinking down on the couch next to him.

They don’t speak. Renjun’s presence is warm and comforting, pressed to his side.

“Mark.” Mark opens his eyes and sees Yukhei kneeling in front of him, his eyes wide and anxious. One of his hands is perched on Mark’s knee, the other holding his phone. “That was my mom. I totally forgot I had to go visit my aunt tonight and I gotta go. Will you be okay?”

“Of course,” Mark nods and smiles a little faintly. It’s the most he can do. “I got four mother gooses taking care of me, go see your aunt.”

“Actually, make that three.” Jaemin smiles sheepishly at Mark when their eyes meet. “I just got a text from Minho hyung asking if I could meet up with him at the dance studio and help him teach Seungmin the choreo for I Want It All.” At everyone’s confused expressions, Jaemin adds, “Seungmin’s club is doing High School Musical and he’s playing Ryan.”

“Ah,” they chorus.

“You two need to stop worrying so much,” Mark scoffs. “I’m fine. I only have a headache right now. Go.”

Neither is too pleased to go. Mark has to threaten to throw away the painkillers until they do.

“You know they’re just worried, right?” Renjun points out.

“I know, but there’s no need to be,” Mark counters. Mark doesn’t understand what they’re so worried about, he was checked out by a doctor already and he’s in no danger.

Mark didn’t notice the hours ticking by. Suddenly, Donghyuck is yawning and retreating to bed – he whines until they agree that yes, someone will go sleep with him now that Jaemin isn’t home – and only Renjun and Jeno are left with Mark in the living room. Mark is thirsty, so he gets up and starts walking towards the kitchen but he’s stopped by two people that he usually loves dearly, but who are getting on his nerves.

“Guys,” Mark sighs, “please, I’m just gonna get some water.”

“We’ll come with you,” Renjun says chirpily. Jeno only offers a half-hearted smile at him.

Mark sighs again but doesn’t protest anymore. The kitchen’s lights are off, as are all the other lights in the house save for a lamp in the hallway, but there’s a full moon tonight and it’s enough to illuminate the kitchen through the oval window over the sink. He pours himself a glass of water and sips at it patiently, leaning against the kitchen counter and watching his boyfriends silently fret over his well-being.

“I’m really sorry, Mark,” Jeno says into the night. Mark raises both eyebrows. “I’m sorry I barrelled into you today.”

“I’m okay, Jeno.” Mark walks closer to him, tugs Jeno into a hug and the younger boy immediately latches onto him. “I know it was an accident.”

“Maybe you could tell him why you were running away from Jaemin?” Renjun suggests. His tone is joyful and teasing.

Mark pulls back in interest. Jeno looks a little embarrassed and a little hopeful, at the same time. He clears his throat and says, “Jaemin asked me on a date. After I said yes, he got annoying so I punched his arm and then he got faux mad and started to chase me around.”

There’s no helping it. Mark bursts out laughing, still holding onto Jeno, Jeno’s own hands tangled in Mark’s hoodie – the one Renjun forced him to wear when they got home, because it would be more comfortable than the clothes he’d been wearing during the day – and Renjun starts laughing as well. They’re probably loud enough to awaken Donghyuck from his slumber, but Mark can’t be bothered to care much.

“Jeno Lee, I love you,” Mark says between bouts of laughter, “but you’re kind of ridiculous.”

“You should have stopped at I love you, it would have been more romantic,” Jeno huffs. Mark laughs some more.

“And I love you both!” Renjun all but throws himself at the two of them, skinny arms struggling to wrap around both their frames. He eventually ends trapped between their bodies, and the content little smile playing at his lips betrays that he’s very much okay with it, in spite of his grumbled protests.

“I’m sorry to steal your thunder, but I also have some news,” Mark says. Renjun makes a sound to show he’s listening, while Jeno peers at him with questioning eyes. “Donghyuck asked me out as well. Today, after we went to that store.”

“Fucking finally,” Jeno huffs. “He’s been pining for a year already and it was getting kind of boring.”

“I’m happy for you,” Renjun tells him honestly. “You two are a great match.”

Mark kisses the tip of his nose and watches as Renjun flushes red. Jeno can definitely see it, too, because he coos and proceeds to pepper the side of Renjun’s neck in kisses, not stopping even after Renjun tries to wriggle out of the way. Renjun’s neck is sensitive and he’s visibly torn between laughing and moaning. He settles for something in between those two.

~

_Jeno came into their lives in the shape of a teacup. Quite literally._

_Their drama club was producing Beauty and The Beast. Renjun was a second year and trusted enough by Yuta to take on more complicated tasks, such as the designing and sewing of several costumes, and Jeno was one of the characters that fell under his responsibility. He was an extra, one of the dancing teacups for ‘Be Our Guest’, and he was beautiful, in Renjun’s words._

_Mark didn’t get to meet him in person until a few weeks into rehearsals, but he heard plenty from Renjun. Some of the things he learned, and that he stored in his ‘Jeno’ mental folder, were: Jeno was allergic to cats, but owned three; he’d been dancing since he was eight years old; he used to be a child actor, did a few commercials in South Korea before his father moved their family to England; he could drink the bitterest coffee with a straight face, and apparently did so during early morning practices, but preferred to add milk if he could; he had the prettiest smile Renjun had seen._

_They meet at the harmony of Heechul ripping into a light tech. The entire club was present, but it wasn’t anything new to hear Heechul blowing up on people, and they went largely ignored. Mark was sitting at the sound booth, headphones over his ears as he bobbed along to the beats he was reorganizing for the main song, when there was a tap on his shoulder. Mark whirled around and came face to face with a smiling Renjun, and behind him was Jeno. He knew it was Jeno before Renjun introduced them, because Renjun hadn’t only showed him Jeno’s Instagram but also because Renjun had the ability to describe people to such detail, it would be impossible for Mark not to know. Mark didn’t even realize at the time that Renjun was holding on tightly to Jeno’s wrist, as if to prevent him from escaping._

_“Mark,” Renjun said, “I’ve told you about Jeno. Jeno, I’ve told you about Mark.”_

_Mark extended his hand, shaking with Jeno’s. “The cat lover,” Mark said._

_“The cat hater,” Jeno countered. Mark sighed deeply and said, “I don’t hate cats. I had a deeply traumatising experience with cats as a kid and I’m not the biggest fan of them, that’s all.”_

_“A cat rejected his love when he was eleven and Mark never got over it,” Renjun said to Jeno in a conspiring whisper, as if Mark wasn’t right fucking there and perfectly capable of hearing him. “He’s sensitive, so don’t make fun of him.”_

_“You’re an asshole,” Mark deadpanned and went back to work. Renjun could still be heard laughing over the music pumping through the cord and it bothered Mark, because every time he heard that laugh he felt tingles at the tip of his fingers._

_That day, when rehearsal finally began, Mark searched for Jeno with his eyes. He knew he was trapped in the sound booth, but being that far up gave him an excellent view of the stage. It was the first full rehearsal of the play, through and through, and it felt like it dragged on forever. Mark already knew all his cues, so it only added to his boredom – he only needed to keep an ear out for the right words and movements, there was no need to pay attention to what was going on below the booth for real._

_Jeno wasn’t in costume, and it was a miracle, because his costume would have gotten in the way for Mark to truly see him dance. He wasn’t even the focus of the number, but he was all Mark could see. In their dorm, Renjun wiggled his eyebrows at Mark until the older boy tried to suffocate him with a pillow._

_Days later, Renjun acted weird for hours. Mark decided in the morning that he’d let Renjun go to him when he wanted and didn’t pressure him to tell him anything, but said decision just got harder and harder to stick to as time passed. By lunch, Renjun had already snapped at three different people, a teacher included; when the afternoon came around, Renjun stomped his way through the auditorium, glaring at everyone, even Jeno. Mark forced himself to hold back, but now more so because he was waiting for night time to talk to Renjun in the privacy of their dorm room._

_As it turned out, Renjun was nervous. It took some probing, but Renjun eventually opened up to him and confessed that he was harbouring feelings for Jeno and that he felt guilty and ashamed and like shit – he cried, just a little, and it made Mark cry as well. It was a long conversation, and it went from talks about break up to avoidance to denial and eventually it led to the possibility of Renjun dating Jeno while he was still dating Mark._

_Mark suggested it. Renjun hadn’t even thought about it when Mark said, pensively, that maybe Renjun could just go out with both of them, or at least ask Jeno out once and see how it goes. Renjun was adamant at first, his nerves and insecurities getting the best of him, until Mark reassured him time and time again that no, it wouldn’t be cheating, no, I don’t mind another boy kissing you, no, I won’t suddenly get cold feet and dump you._

_However, even after Renjun agreed to seriously think about it, it took him several more weeks to get around and do it. The timing? Performance night, more specifically, at the after party hosted in lead actress Haseul’s flat. Mark was pleasantly buzzed within an hour of the party, far better off than most around him that were already trashed, and he was able to witness the entire ordeal: Renjun asking Jeno to talk in the kitchen; the two, hunched over at the counter, trying to cut little pieces of cheese while drinking wine like the fucking snobs they all were; the exact moment Renjun proposed the question, obvious in the way Jeno’s eyes widened considerably and his entire face turned red._

_Mark always mourned his inability to read lips, but he doesn’t think he would have needed it to know what they were saying; reading Renjun was like second nature to Mark. There was an exchange of words, Renjun’s shoulders going from stiff to relaxed and he smiled brightly at Jeno, the previously permanent frown on his face disappearing. After that, Jeno went back to the party and dissolved into the mass of bodies throbbing together in the living room, while Renjun skipped to Mark’s side and kissed him until Mark was breathless and unbearably hot._

_Mark loses track of how many dates they go on during the next two months. Mostly, it’s because they do a lot of coffee dates and study dates and they’re all very impromptu, with few and spread out formal dates. Mark and Renjun have a similar approach, though their casual dates take the form of cuddling under one blanket and watching whatever shitty movie they find online that doesn’t require a credit card._

_The discussion to delve into the polyamory business for real took place at a college pub. It was a Friday night and the place was packed, students from all universities in the area converging there for the low prices and the buffalo wings, and Mark had to squeeze through a sea of rugby players celebrating a game to reach their table. Jeno and Renjun were already there because they finished lessons earlier than he did, and Renjun had made sure to order him a drink when Mark texted him he was at the corner._

_They squirted around the topic, of course. They didn’t have any idea how to start talking about it, so they did the logical thing and talked about anything else until they were drunk and their inhibitions were lowered. Afterwards, Renjun did most of the talking, stumbling through reassurances and promises, until Jeno and Mark took pity on him and wrapped up. Jeno did ask for a few days to think about it, but there wasn’t much doubt in Mark’s mind about what he’d say._

~

Despite the half-assed complaints, Mark and Jeno terrorize Renjun for nearly half an hour. They take turns; sometimes Mark will attach his lips to Renjun’s neck and bite down until Renjun is twisting away with breathy gasps that sound deliciously like Mark’s name, other times it’s Jeno sucking his skin and pulling at it lightly with his teeth.

Renjun is weak against them. He’s trapped between their bodies, two unmovable forces, and as much as Renjun seems to complain about it, Mark knows he likes it – he really is so different with them to how he is on his day-to-day. While Jeno leaves the nth hickey on his neck and grips his hips tight enough to leave finger-shaped bruises behind, Mark takes Renjun’s chin between his fingers, twists Renjun’s head to face him and kisses him silly, lets his tongue slip past Renjun’s open mouth and licks at his gums. Renjun moans and pulls on Mark’s hair, nimble fingers scraping his scalp and grabbing a lock for leverage. Jeno kisses him after, a trail of spit connecting their lips the last thing Mark sees before the older boy tugs Renjun’s shirt collar down at starts mouthing at his collarbones. Renjun’s knees shake and he probably would have lost his balance if the two weren’t mostly supporting his weight by now.

Renjun finally breaks free from their grasp, his hair significantly ruffled, his lips red and his neck covered in reds and purples. He runs upstairs before they can catch him again, saying he’ll crash with Donghyuck tonight because the two of them are a menace. Mark only giggles and hides his face in Jeno’s hair. He feels strangely giddy, his veins pumping electricity through his body – he supposes that’s a side effect from the boys.

“I’m going to apologize again because I feel really fucking bad about this,” Jeno says. They’re tangled in an awkward mess of limbs, to the point where Mark isn’t sure where he ends and where Jeno begins.

“You don’t have to,” Mark tells him gently. “Seriously, kitty, it’s fine. Stop beating yourself up.”

Jeno sighs, grumbles something and hides his face in Mark’s chest. He has to bend down a little to do it and his hair is tickling Mark’s nose, but it’s okay. He smells like baby powder, Mark thinks. Mark pets Jeno’s hair down and rubs his back, smiling when Jeno makes a pleased sound and presses into his hand. He’s so much like a cat sometimes.

“Hey,” Mark taps his fingers in Jeno’s bone tail, “how about you do something for me, as a sort of penitence? And after you do it, you can’t keep apologizing. Deal?”

“Deal,” Jeno nods.

Mark smiles again. The hand previously on Jeno’s back slides upwards and tugs on Jeno’s hair, just enough to make him lift his head the littlest bit – and one of the sweetest sounds Mark has heard all day – and their gazes meet. Jeno is melting in his embrace, his chin is resting on Mark’s chest and his eyes are kind of glossy in the moonlight. It’s a familiar sight, but not one Mark will get bored with anytime soon.

“Kiss me,” Mark says.

Jeno blinks up at him, as if he’s not sure he heard him right. “Seriously? Is that all you want from me after I nearly killed you?”

“You didn’t nearly kill me,” Mark stresses, “but yes. That’s all I want.”

Jeno fucking _purrs_ the second Mark starts stroking his nape. Mark knows because he can feel it vibrating in his own chest and through their connected lips, in the way Jeno wraps both arms around his waist and presses their bodies together. Jeno is a very tactile person, everyone who knows him knows this, and he doesn’t stop touching Mark the entire time they’re kissing.

They kiss until they can’t breathe and Mark’s heart is rioting against his ribcage, until their lungs are burning with the effort. Even then, they only separate long enough to pant for a few short seconds, Mark brushing hair out of Jeno’s face and then they’re back at it. The counter’s edge is digging into Mark’s lower back and he finds that the simplest solution is to move to the living room – it’s some risky business, but Jeno is worth it.

After an awkward penguin waddle from the kitchen to the couch, Jeno lies back on the cushions and drags Mark with him, the older boy straddling him to keep his balance and to avoid crushing him. It’s too dark to see anything beyond his nose, but Mark doesn’t need artificial lightning to know that Jeno’s lips are shiny with spit and swollen red or that his eyes are blown wide, blacker than brown.

“You’re forgiven, kitty.” Mark nuzzles his nose against Jeno’s cheek and grins at the strangled sound that rips out of his boyfriend’s throat. Jeno is week for petnames, but he never reacts quite the same as he does when Mark calls him that. “You’re so cute.”

“Either put your hand in my pants or get out,” Jeno grumbles snappily. It’s about as threatening as a new born puppy, but Mark complies either way.

Mark loves how Jeno gets the second someone puts his hands on him, the quiet desperation in his eyes and the breathy moans that he doesn’t seem to be able to control. They continue kissing even as their hands sneak into each other’s pants, chasing something quick before the others get home or Renjun decides to meander back downstairs.

They usually last longer than this. Mark ruts against Jeno quickly and efficiently, as desperate for release as Jeno is. And when Jeno’s mouth opens in a silent moan and his abdomen contracts, the muscles shifting under Mark’s hand and his cum coating Mark’s fingers, Mark is pulled under, his sight going blurry for a second. He hadn’t even noticed how close he was until that moment.

They sit panting in the dark for several minutes. The spunk has already dried on Mark’s hand by the time they finally move, Mark carefully pulling Jeno’s pants back up and the two of them giggling the entire trip to the downstairs bathroom. The second the light hits his eyes, Mark feels a headache start again and he groans, using a hand to shield his vision. They clean up in relative silence, mostly laughing to or at each other and nearly tripping over a discarded towel on the floor.

“Do you think Renjun would kick us out if we try crashing with him and Hyuck?” Jeno asks pensively. He’s sitting on the sink’s counter, kicking his feet idly in the air while Mark wipes his tummy with a wet hand towel. This bathroom doesn’t have a shower and they’re too lazy to even _take_ a shower, anyway. They’ll get shit for it in the morning, but who cares?

“I’m certain he’d at least glare and turn his back on us,” Mark snorts. “Did Jaemin say when he’d be back?”

“He’ll probably be back after two am, if he doesn’t just stay with Seungmin or one of the other guys.” Jeno practically purrs as Mark brushes his hair and he would have fallen asleep if Mark didn’t keep him talking.

“The house feels empty without him and Xuxi,” Mark says.

“Yet another reason why we should brave the wrath of Renjun and go bug him and Hyuck,” Jeno grins.

~

_Jeno’s role as Danny Zuko took everyone by surprise._

_He was horsing around with his friends just before auditions opened, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ blaring through the speakers dangling from Felix’s fingers as all of them strutted around stage in their best impressions of the characters. They’d already learned part of the choreographies and they were showing off to the rest of the drama club when Heechul walked in._

__  
_ _

_It wasn’t uncommon for their club to go wild during off times, and Heechul didn’t even bat an eye. The dancers formed a circle and forced other crew members inside – it was midterms week and people were at their wit’s ends -, everyone dancing and singing along to the play’s track list. Heechul’s eyes twinkled when Jeno joined the circle and danced to ‘Greased Lightning’ and minutes later he was asking the boy if he would be interested in acting._

_Jeno’s flabbergasted expression was officially the funniest thing Mark had ever seen. Jeno didn’t seem to know how to react to the offer, only snapping out of it when Heechul began tapping his foot impatiently with his eyebrows raised. Jeno blurted out that he would be interested and the two disappeared into Heechul’s office for the next hour, auditions postponed for Wednesday._

_Mark and Renjun waited for him outside of the auditorium, down the hall from their director’s office. Heechul never gave out opportunities like that and it was certainly something to be expectant about. Jeno walked out of the office with a dazed expression on his face, sinking down on the plush bench next to Renjun and said, “I guess I’m Danny Zuko now.”_

_It was a bit of an uproar, both in and out of their drama club. Inside, their crewmates were surprised to hear the news, but they were excited for Jeno, clapping him on the back and shaking him side to side whenever they saw him, congratulations falling from their lips. Out of the club, it was different; some, if not most, were confused to hear there would be no auditions for the role of Danny, while others were angry and claimed it wasn’t fair that they weren’t given the opportunity to try out for the part. Heechul made sure that everyone who showed up for auditions knew that it was his decision, and at the end of the day, wasn’t he the law?_

_In spite of the discomfort, Jeno didn’t receive any backlash and preparations for the play went on without a hitch. Mark had to run lines with him in the mornings of rehearsal and helped him practice the songs in his dorm, sometimes with the assistance of Hyunjin, sometimes alone. Renjun was swamped in costumes he had to design and sew, but this year he had Year 1 underclassmen to do the things he either didn’t have the time to do or simply didn’t want to._

_Mark’s problems began when Renjun started to work on Jeno’s costume. Renjun kept muttering to himself about the girls’ costume changes and the ridiculous amount of skirts he needed to pull out of his ass and he was happy to know he only needed to make about two different pants for Danny and that was it._

_“Zuko’s fashion taste consists of leather pants and jackets and that’s a miracle in itself,” Renjun said one night. He was working on Sandy’s dress for the first act and there was a red ribbon tied around his head courtesy of Mark._

_The first time Mark sees Jeno in his costume, it’s a Friday night. Mark came back to the dorm after a meeting with Siyeon so she could listen to the rearrangements of ‘Summer Loving’, tired and weary from a long day, and walked into the room just as Jeno was shrugging on the jacket. His hair was down, soft and curly from a recent shower, but everything else was so on point it gave Mark whiplash. The leather pants stuck to his legs like a second skin and the thin, white t-shirt he wore under the jacket hugged his torso a little too well. Mark had to snap his mouth shut and look away before Jeno could notice his reaction, but Renjun was too fast for Mark’s good._

_Jeno asked Mark what he thought of the costume. Mark tried to be as encouraging as possible without making it obvious how much he loved it – he thought he did a good job until he saw how red Jeno got and then he just figured he’d embarrassed him._

_The first time they had costume rehearsals, Mark locked himself up in the sound booth and avoided looking at the stage too much in fear he’d get distracted and forget his cues. The second time, he felt sane enough to take a peek every once in a while. The third time, Mark paid a lot more attention and didn’t feel quite as victimized as before whenever Jeno walked on stage. Mark called it progress._

_Renjun’s instincts began tingling soon after Mark started feeling that way. He would get a strange sparkle in his eyes and he’d stare at Mark with suspicion, walking away mysteriously every time Mark asked what was wrong or told him to stop looking at him like that. Mark quickly grew annoyed at his behaviour and Renjun dropped the act; or, at least, he stopped being so transparent about it. Mark knew he was still onto him and giggling about it to his sketchbook._

_In retrospect, Mark should have seen it coming. When he got a text message from Renjun asking him to go back to their dorm, he didn’t think much of it at the time; it sounded completely normal to him, so Mark did as he was told, locking the music room as he left for the night. It didn’t cross his mind that Renjun had said to him, earlier in the day, that he had to meet with some of the actresses to fix a few shirts and skirts and he’d be back late. 10 pm definitely wasn’t late._

_It all became clear as Mark walked into his dorm and found Jeno spinning on Renjun’s desk chair, dressed up as Danny, his hair slicked back and humming along to the song playing from the little radio on Mark’s desk._

_Mark’s heart jumped up to his throat when their eyes met. Jeno, despite the costume, was still his usual self, evident in the way his face lit up and his lips stretched into a grin when he saw Mark. It gave him heart flutters to see that look aimed at him._

_“Renjun isn’t here, is he?” Mark asked, right off the bat. It all made sense now._

_Jeno tilted his head to the side adorably and gave him a confused expression. “No? he asked me to meet him here but that was fifteen minutes ago. Did Renjun text you, too?”_

_“He did,” Mark confirmed. He finished walking into the room and closed the door behind him. The air was already charged with tension, Mark’s nerves skyrocketing when he realized that Jeno seemed as shifty as he felt. Perhaps, he wasn’t as alone in his feelings as he’d assumed he was. “Why are you in costume?”_

_“He said he needed to take pictures of all the actors in their main costume for the club’s yearbook,” Jeno said. And dammit, that sounded believable – their club did have a yearbook, and everyone featured in it, the actors often wearing the costumes for the plays they would perform in during that year. “Maybe you can take the photo!” Jeno suggested cheerfully._

_Mark’s throat went dry, not for the first time, as Jeno stood up from the chair and handed his phone off to him. Jeno was just a tad taller than Mark, enough for Mark to have to raise his eyes to look at him, and it sent chills down his back. While they were fooling around with the poses for the pictures, Mark felt fine, laughing along with Jeno; but the second Jeno got serious for the real photo, holding onto the lapels of his jacket, Mark’s heart decided it was time to go back to racing horses – it didn’t matter that the pose was ridiculous, especially combined with the glare, Jeno still looked too good._

_Five seconds later, Mark was kissing Jeno, fistfuls of jacket in his hands and Jeno’s surprised squeak muffled by Mark’s lips. He took Jeno off guard, but the boy recovered easily and he was quick to kiss him back, and kiss they did, until Renjun finally made an appearance with a shit-eating grin on his face as he launched his body at them where they were lounging on Mark’s bed. He made himself comfortable between them, way too proud of his sneaky ways and of getting them together._

~

Renjun doesn’t kick them out of the room. He’s completely knocked out on Donghyuck’s bed, their pinkies linked together but no other inch of skin touching between them – Donghyuck’s mouth is hanging open and there’s a line of drool trailing down his chin, while Renjun is snoring into the pillow. Mark and Jeno coo at the sight of them, as silent as they can because they are both very easily roused from sleep.

Jeno is quick to slide under the covers behind Donghyuck, throwing an arm over his torso and his own pink goes to wrap around the other two’s, Donghyuck accommodating him in his sleep. Mark takes up the empty spot behind Renjun, spooning him, and lets Jeno drag his hand into the pile. Donghyuck’s and Jaemin’s bedroom has a circular window near the ceiling above the bed and it allows the moonlight to illuminate part of the room, the bed included, so Mark can see the three of them perfectly; the gentle slope of Jeno’s nose where it’s buried in Donghyuck’s neck, Donghyuck’s lips puckering up every few minutes before they fall open again because he has allergies and can’t breathe through his nose and Renjun’s soft locks of black hair that are tickling Mark’s chin and nose.

There’s an alarm on Mark’s phone set for seven am; by then, it’ll be twelve hours since he took his pill. Mark has never been the best at sleeping when he knows he has an alarm to wake him up, so he drifts in and out of consciousness for too long. He goes an entire hour staring at the ceiling and listening to the steady breathing of his boyfriends to his right, and then he falls asleep and then wakes up again when the door creaks open.

Jaemin and Yukhei creep into the bedroom as silently as they can. They must have gotten back at the same time, probably planned to do so, and they’re already dressed for sleep. Mark watches them unbeknownst to them while they try their best to climb into bed. Jaemin looks like he wants to wiggle between Jeno and Donghyuck, his eyes far too mischievous for this hour of the night, but he settles for draping over them both. Yukhei goes for Mark immediately, and this bed isn’t as big as Mark’s so they all have to squeeze in together. Even Donghyuck, Jeno and Renjun, dead to the world, move when they’re prodded, converging closer to each other to make room for the others and Yukhei and Jaemin can lie down without fearing they’ll fall off the bed.

It still takes Mark a while longer to fall asleep, but Yukhei is a comforting presence pressed along his back and it helps.

**Author's Note:**

> random facts:  
> -. this is set in london  
> -. xuxi is scottish, his parents have a farm in the outskirts of glasgow  
> -. nohyuck are rich kids, their parents are in the arts business (jeno's dad is an arts dealer and hyuck's is an arts consultant) (yes they are different things i googled it)  
> -. (this is totally made up but) their uni has many drama clubs consisting of students from different faculties and every season the clubs prepare new shows to perform during a two week period and it's most professors' evaluation system?? i didnt think this one through very well but it worked  
> -. also dont ask me why there are so many asians if this is set in london idk either  
> -. i made the dorm situation on the spot so it's like since it's a small campus people can request to repeat roommates in following semesters hence why markren are roommates until they move out  
> -. i did the bare minimum research on concusions aka asked my mom about it at five am so don't quote me on any of this
> 
>  
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/doitsushine92)  
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